2006 Puligny Montrachet Clos de la Mouchere

From a monopole within Perrieres, Henri Boillot's 2006 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchere displays toasted almond and hazelnut on the nose that segue into notes of oak. Deeply concentrated, with peach, brown spices, toasted hazelnuts, and bitter notes of peach kernel and lemon pip mingling on a broad but firm palate, this finishes with pungent, spicy intensity, if with a faint hint of heat. Henri Boillot's domaine will now be known by his name rather than that of his father Jean, and will thus be eponymous with his ambitious and burgeoning negociant collection. But precisely because the latter line-up is so lengthy, and because certain differences in approach (and certainly a different cellar environment) apply to each of Boillot's businesses, I have treated his negociant wines under a separate heading. Boillot began harvesting five days ahead of the ban de vendange, and the precautions he took to preserve freshness in his 2006 wines overlap with those he has taken generally in an attempt to ward off premature oxidation. He performed no batonnage, and planned to monitor the assembled wines in tank over an extended period. These domaine wines were less generous - almost severe - the day I tasted, when compared with the corresponding negociant wines, perhaps in part due to the former having been racked to tank less than three weeks prior. Importer: The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel. (415) 491 4724